> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://tmniche-docs.keywordrush.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://tmniche-docs.keywordrush.com/core-concepts/topic-map.md). # The Topic Map When you create a plan, Too Much Niche doesn't hand you a single article — it generates a **Topic Map**: a complete plan for your whole site. It works out *what* to publish, *how* it's organized, *how* the articles link together, and *when* to publish each one — all before a word is written. That plan-first order is the heart of how TMN works. ## Why plan first? Anyone can generate a hundred articles. The problem is that a hundred disconnected posts don't rank — no structure, no internal links, no strategy. A Topic Map gives every article a job: some target commercial topics, others build supporting authority, and all of them link into one coherent structure. The result is a **site**, not a pile of posts. ## What's inside a Topic Map A Topic Map has three parts: **hubs**, **pillar pages**, and **articles**. ### Hubs A **hub** is a topic cluster — a group of related articles covering one sub-topic of your niche. An earbuds site, for example, might have hubs like *Noise-cancelling earbuds*, *Budget earbuds*, and *Earbuds for running*. Your plan is organized into several hubs. Each hub also maps to a **WordPress category**: TMN suggests a category name, and every article in the hub is published under it. You can rename the suggestion or assign an existing category. ### Pillar pages Each hub has a **pillar page** — a special page that links to every article in that hub. The pillar is the cluster's home base: it gives readers and search engines a clear map of the topic and ties the hub together. TMN usually gives a pillar a broad, comprehensive format — a beginner guide or a buying guide — so it works as a thorough overview of the whole hub. {% hint style="success" %} **Surface your pillars in navigation.** Pillars are your top-level topics, so link them from both the **main menu** and the **homepage** — the menu sitewide link is the strongest internal signal you can give a page, and the homepage adds context-rich anchor text. Keep this to pillars only (not individual articles); with many hubs, put your top 4–6 in the menu and surface the rest in a homepage section. This is a manual WordPress step — TMN wires the article-to-article links for you, but menus and the homepage are yours to set. {% endhint %} ### Articles Each hub contains the individual **articles** (called *nodes* in the app). An article is one planned post, and it carries the details that tell TMN how to write it: * **Format** — the kind of article: review, how-to, comparison, buying guide, FAQ, and so on. * **Intent** — whether it's a **money** article (commercial) or an **info** article (supporting content), or a mix of both. * **Priority** — how high-opportunity the topic is, so you know what's worth doing first. * **Internal links** — which other articles it should link to, with suggested anchor text. * **Target publish date** — where it sits on your calendar. ## How it all links together TMN plans the internal links across the **entire** map, not article by article: supporting info articles link up to the money articles and pillars they support, related articles link to each other, and every pillar links to all the articles in its hub. Those links are added automatically when you generate each article — so your site is interlinked from day one, not patched together later. Internal linking has a few moving parts — link types, contextual links, and related-article blocks. See [**Interlinking**](/core-concepts/interlinking.md) for how it works. ## The publishing calendar Every article is given a **target publish date**, spread across the planning horizon at the publishing pace you set in the wizard. That turns the plan into a ready-made editorial calendar instead of a flat to-do list. You can change any individual article's target date later while you work through the plan. ## It's a proposal — you stay in control The Topic Map is a starting point you shape *before* anything is written. From the plan you can: * **Edit an article** — change its title, format, intent, target date, or attach specific products to it. * **Add your own articles** — create new ones inside any hub. * **Skip** articles you don't want, without deleting them. Nothing is written until you choose to generate it, one article at a time. ## Next * [**Create a content plan**](/building-a-site/create-a-plan.md) — generate your first Topic Map. * [**Edit your Topic Map**](/building-a-site/edit-topic-map.md) — shape the plan before generating. * [**Monetization models**](/core-concepts/monetization-models.md) — how your chosen model reshapes the map. --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com. ## Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter, and the optional `goal` query parameter: ``` GET https://tmniche-docs.keywordrush.com/core-concepts/topic-map.md?ask=&goal= ``` `ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. `goal` is optional and describes the broader end goal you are ultimately trying to accomplish on behalf of the user. GitBook uses it to tailor the answer towards what is most useful for that goal. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.